Pictures and Praises

There are so many good things that happen in a day. I hate to just focus this blog only on the negative. So here are some pictures of our children and a little description of each of them. We have certainly been blessed!!

This is Se. Who is now 16 and in 11th grade. She is lovely, very creative and seriously into horses, photography, knitting and spinning. In a few weeks she will be joining her Dad on a short term missions trip to Ethiopia where she will be staying in an "at risk" home for street girls. There she will be teaching them how to spin wool into yarn so that they can earn a living from the resources around them. The girls in the home already know how to knit and they make and sell scarfs. We are hoping that by taking them a spinning wheel and teaching them to spin, they can cut out the middle man and make more of a profit. The homes are run by an amazing retired missionary couple. We were blessed to have them spend a few days in our home in November. While here we learned so much about what street life is like for teen girls in Ethiopia and Se was really convicted that she should go and help. We know this is a HUGE leap outside of her comfort zone. She has travel to South Korea when we adopted L but this is a third world country and she will be totally immersed in the culture. We are hoping and praying that this will be a huge growing experience for her.

This is M who is 14 and in the 7th grade. She is very organized and loves to keep things neat and clean. She loves school and quickly masters new concepts. She is very social and loves being with her friends...What more can I say? She is beautiful, generous, affectionate and intelligent but as I've posted, only when she feels like it. She has certainly had her ups and downs in the last year but we hope as time goes by she will stay on the up side and desire a connection with us.

This is our resident comedian, Sj. He is 12 and in the 6th grade. Sj struggles with dyslexia. He has come a long way with his reading this year and we are so proud of the effort he has put into it. He has always been a curious boy, taking everything apart so that he can see how it works. Thankfully he can can now put together most of what he takes apart. He definitely has his Dad's mechanical abilities. His current passions are Legos and Tae Kwon Do. His crazy sense of humor keeps us in stitches.

This is A, She is 11 and in 5th grade. Our wild child! When you first meet her she is shy, but once she warms up, watch out! She is hilariously funny and some of the things she comes out with keeps us rolling in laughter. It has been such a joy to watch her grow and blossom in the love of a family. She is one of those kids who can accomplish anything she puts her mind to. She tackles things riding a two wheeled bicycle and ice skating with vigor and quickly mastered them. She has an ear for music and language. English is her 3rd language and she can switch back and forth between all three with ease. Nothing seems impossible for her. The most impressive thing about A however is her heart. She has an amazing compassion for the poor and hurting. Her desire is to be a Doctor someday so that she can help people.

This is M, He is 8 and in 2nd grade. He has come so far in the last year and we are so proud of him. He still struggles with self control and getting frustrated easily but is maturing into a nice young man. He loves to play chess and has taught most of his siblings how to play too. He has a HUGE heart and wants to be a missionary someday.

This is our L, She is 6 and in the 1st grade. The word mischievous only begins to describe her. No one can begin to predict what she will do next. When she isn't trying to slide down the laundry schute or get away with some equally crazy scheme, she can be found outside picking wild flowers or playing with the barn animals. She currently loves anything to do with the ocean, if we can find a way to harness her energy for good instead of evil, she may become a famous marine biologist someday.

This is B, he is almost 5 and our little cowboy. He even sleeps with his boots on sometimes! He has an obsession with anything Toy Story. He is our deep thinker and comes up with some pretty funny stories. At least once a week he tells us that we need a new baby in the house because K isn't much of a baby anymore. He is all boy but still Mommy's cuddle bug. He has one volume and that is LOUD!

This is Little M, She is 4. She has done beautifully here since day one and is always happy. She is our little score keeper making sure everything is even. When she first came home, if someone gave her a piece of candy she would try to bite it into 9 equal pieces so that each of her brothers and sisters could have some. She is an amazingly compassionate little girl, always the first one on the scene to rub a back and give kisses when someone is sick or hurt. She is a real sweetheart, but her mothering has the tendency to drive her brothers and sisters crazy.

Last but not least, this is our little miracle K. She is 2 and cute as a button with her bouncing red curls. She is quite the talker and can hold her own amongst the bigger kids. She has a great sense of humor and keeps us on our toes. She loves her baby dolls and can always be seen walking around with one in the crook of her arm in what we call "the head lock hold".